


color in your cheeks

by BoyishStutter



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Found Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 17:17:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18721489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoyishStutter/pseuds/BoyishStutter
Summary: There's no hot water, his best friend and his brother can't stop fighting, but his girlfriend is a genius. Hashirama may be able to survive this winter yet.





	color in your cheeks

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for - Foundations: A Naruto Fan Zine.

“Are you alive in there?”

Hashirama ignored Madara’s question and bravely stuck his hand under the shower spray once more, and sent a prayer to whatever higher power may be listening that it would finally be warm this time.

“Oh, fuck me…” 

He rubbed his icy hand, letting out a distressed whine. He was a good person. He (almost) always paid his share of rent on time, he drove his little brother to school, he never called out at work, he even remembered all important anniversaries (even if no one else thought “First Debilitating Hangover” was a memorable occasion). He didn’t deserve this! He deserved a hot shower on a frigid Monday morning, dammit! 

“Hashirama?”

He hung his head, dejected. How could someone survive winter without hot showers to start the day? He finally admitted defeat as Madara’s concerned voice drifted into the bathroom once more. There was just no way around it, he’d have to call the property manager and beg him to send over a plumber. He shut off the water and watched it go down the drain with a frown, he wondered how much their slimy landlord would try to charge for maintenance this time.

Hashirama was lost in his thoughts when the door opened, causing him to shriek and draw his oversized, fluffy bathrobe tighter around himself, “I’m naked!”

Madara leaned against the door frame and snorted, “No, you’re not. If you were actually naked you wouldn’t give a shit about me opening the door, you’re just embarrassed that you’re twenty-four years old and still wearing a bathrobe with cartoons on them.”

“They’re trees!”

“They’re _cartoon_ trees.”

Hashirama glared, “I hate you.”

His roommate simply shrugged, “I can live with that.”

“Did you need something?”

Madara shook his head, “Nah, I just wanted to make sure that you hadn’t drowned in here. But, it looks like you didn’t even get in...your hair’s still dry. You okay?”

Hashirama’s face fell, “The water heater’s broken.”

Madara swore.

“Yeah, I’ll give the landlord a call before my shift tonight. That’ll be fun.”

“You sure? I can call that greasy bastard, too, y’know.”

He laughed, “And then have to pay for your bail and the fix? Nah. Thank you, really, but I can do it.”

Madara stepped back to let him exit the bathroom, “Make your brother do it. It’s not like he’s doing anything.”

Hashirama flicked the frown line between the other man’s brows, smothering his laugh when Madara hissed like an angry cat, “Tobirama’s studying for finals now, you know that.”

Madara rubbed between his eyes, glaring cross-eyed at his roomate, “So?”

“So,” He said, tired of repeating this argument, “He needs to focus on that. University is hard enough without also dealing with this shit.”

“Not like either of us would know, but...fine, fine. No involving Tobirama in the daily maintenance of our living space,” Madara grumbled, following Hashirama down the hall, “But, I still think you baby him.”

“Noted.”

Hashirama pulled his phone from his robe’s pocket and fired off a quick text to Tobirama letting him know that the hot water would be out for the next day or so.

“When do you have to be at work?”

“Uh, I have to be there at four, I think,” He mentally flipped through his calendar, “Yeah, definitely four. But, don’t worry about it. I know you’re working tonight, too. I can take the bus.”

It wasn’t always easy sharing a car between the two of them, but it was better than the alternative of not having a vehicle at all. Madara’s father gifted him the car when he was a teenager, but it was too hard to maintain the insurance and tax payments on his own. Meanwhile, Hashirama couldn’t afford any part of a car on his own. The arrangement worked out pretty well for both of them.

“Don’t be stupid,” Madara said, “I haven’t gotten fired from the gym yet. You can drop me off and shower there before your shift.”

“Don’t say ‘yet’ like it’s an inevitability!”

Madara rolled his eyes, “Yeah, because I’m such a picture of stability.”

“Well, maybe if you didn’t break company policy by letting your friends use the showers without a membership…”

“Dude, shut the hell up.”

Hashirama laughed, “I know, I know. But, really, thank you. I appreciate you doing this for me, I totally owe you.”

“You already owed me,” Madara said, “But, don’t worry about it. Go get dressed and let me grab my uniform, then we can head out.”

Hashirama placed his hands on Madara’s shoulders and gave him an annoying, wet kiss on his cheek, complete with obnoxious sound effects. 

He ignored the struggling man and the shouted complaints, “I don’t care what anyone says! You’re the best!”

“I hate you so much! And I’m telling Mito!”

“Good!” Hashirama yelled over his shoulder as he dashed down the hall, “She can give you a kiss on the other side for all your help!”

“Ugh, you all suck!”

He cackled, ignoring the token protests. Their lives weren’t always easy, but Hashirama was grateful that he had a friend like Madara to help him through it.

**

It took three days, but the water heater was finally fixed. Hashirama cried twice, Madara yelled for an hour, and Tobirama hid at the library for the duration. All things considered, Hashirama felt it went pretty well. It certainly worked out far better than the refrigerator debacle three years ago.

He shuddered at the memory, pulling out his phone to dial Tobirama. He tucked it between his ear and shoulder as he pushed a cart through the grocery aisles. Madara always lectured him for being on the phone in public spaces, but it’s simply too convenient a habit to quit.

The ringing stopped and Hashirama was greeted with an abrupt, “What?”

“Excuse me? Is that any way to answer the phone?”

There was long-suffering sigh on the end of the line, “It is when I’ve been studying for the past four hours and you’re only calling to tell me that Madara promised you a McFlurry and has decided to renege on said promise and ‘oh, my life is so _terrible_ , he’s such a _bully_.’” 

Hashirama squawked, pulling the phone away from his face to glare at it. The disrespect...

“First of all,” he said, sternly, “I don’t sound like that. And, second of all, I deserved that McFlurry! It’s cruel and inhumane to give empty promises of McDonald’s.”

“Mhm.”

“Don’t try to placate me, you’re the one who threw a fit last time we went through the drive thru and you weren’t allowed to get a twenty piece chicken nuggets.”

“What was the point of going through the drive thru then!” 

“Madara and I wanted a coffee! We got you a milkshake!”

“I wanted nuggets!” 

“We had food at home!”

Hashirama looked up guiltily as his voice rose. He glanced at the disapproving woman across the aisle and shot her an apologetic smile. She frowned and turned away. Oh well, he thought, at least he’d tried.

“Whatever, was there a reason you called?”

He perked back up remembering his mission, “Yes, actually. The water heater is fixed and I want us to have a family dinner to celebrate.”

“We have family dinner all the time.” 

“Nuh-uh,” he whined, “I haven’t seen you in nearly a week!” 

“It’s been like three days, you big baby.”

The fond exasperation in the tone made Hashirama smile, “Three days too long!”

“Fine, fine. I’ll be home. You don’t have to work?”

“Nope, I switched shifts with one of the guys. I’ll work the double on Saturday to make it up.”

“Hashirama…” 

He closed his eyes, not wanting to start another well-worn argument. Tobirama always insisted he could work, too, and Hashirama always insisted that he needed to focus on finishing university.

“I know, let’s just...not today. Okay?” 

There was a short pause, “Fine.” 

He sighed in relief. 

“Will Madara be there?” 

“Of course, it’s family dinner!” 

“Did you invite Mito yet?” 

Hashirama ran his finger along the metal edge of the cart, blushing slightly, “I wasn’t sure…” 

“It’s _family_ dinner,” Tobirama parroted back at him. 

The insinuation made Hashirama’s blush worsen, “Okay, I’ll call her after I finish up here.”

“Good, and stop calling people from the grocery store.”

It was amazing, that despite the routine disagreements between Tobirama and Madara they always seemed to be on the same side when it came to lecturing _him_. Hashirama shook his head, the unending disrespect...

“Wait, how’d you know I was at the grocery store?”

Hashirama could feel his brother’s eye roll through the phone, “Because, I know you? And I can sense the disapproving middle-aged mothers staring at you right now.”

He resolutely did not glance at anyone else in the aisle, “No one’s staring.”

“Yeah, right,” there was a slight rustling on the other end of the line, “Listen, I need to finish up some things here so I’ll see you when I get home.”

“Okay, bye, love you!” 

There was another moment of silence before Hashirama heard the rushed, mumbled, and mostly unintelligible response through the speakers followed by the disconnect tone. He cackled, putting the phone back in his pocket. His brother’s loyalty was obvious, even if the ability to express such feelings in words always seemed to evade him. Hashirama didn’t mind, if he needed the people in his life to use words to communicate he’d never have ended up living with Madara. Besides, just because he wouldn’t hear the words reciprocated didn’t mean he would avoid expressing his own affection. 

Or, more accurately, old habits die hard and Hashirama was never going to give up an opportunity to embarrass and tease his little brother. What could he say? He enjoyed being the older sibling.

**

“We’re home!”

Hashirama smiled hearing Mito’s voice in the entranceway. He was glad that Madara was still upstairs; there was no question in his mind that Madara would’ve been able to tell exactly what sort of somersaults his heart just did simply from hearing his girlfriend refer to their house as her home.

He hoped his blush wasn’t too obvious. He finished the setting the table before leaving the kitchen to greet Tobirama and Mito at the door, “Welcome home.”

Mito smiled at him, nose and cheeks pink from the cold. Hashirama grinned back, ignoring the desire to press quick kisses to the reddened patches of skin. Instead, he turned to face Tobirama who was still fighting to free himself from his scarf and jacket, “Did you thank Mito for picking you up?”

Tobirama finally emerged from his layers, a brief triumphant grin flashing across his face before he reverted to his usual scowl, “Yes, I did. You don’t need to ask me that every time. I do have manners, you know. I know how to be considerate.”

“Oh,” Madara said as he descended the stairs, joining the trio still huddled around the door, “Since when?”

Tobirama turned his scowl on the other man, “Oh, fuck off. I’m not polite to you because you’re incapable of being anything other than abrasive all the time. That doesn’t mean I’m not able to be polite to anyone!”

“Please,” Madara said, rolling his eyes, “I’m a delight. Just ask your brother.”

Hashirama looked at Mito, his fond exasperation echoed on her face. It was a familiar bickering that they both knew all too well.

“Children,” he said, not looking away from the woman standing before him, “Behave.”

**

Thankfully, Tobirama and Madara managed to keep their animosity at an all time low throughout dinner. It was likely due to how exhausted they both were from work and school and the entire awful month in general, they simply didn’t have the energy to maintain any true arguments.

Hashirama didn’t like to see his family exhausted and suffering, but he would take a tear-free family dinner whenever he could. Especially since most often the tears were his. He banished the others to the living room to pick a movie while he finished up the dishes.

He was scrubbing a particularly stubborn spot on a pan when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, he smiled down at the sink, “You’re playing a dangerous game, Mito.”

She chuckled into his shoulder blade, “How so?”

He pulled his hands free from the suds, carefully drying them on the dish towel so he could turn to face Mito and place his arms around her in return, “They’ve been getting along so well all night, leaving them unsupervised now is bound to end in disaster.”

Mito snorted, “Maybe. But, I have a gut feeling they get along better than you think.”

“Well, your gut is rarely wrong,” Hashirama conceded, “And, it would make me happy if that were the case. I wouldn’t turn down more evenings like this.”

She smiled, “Me either.”

He sighed, resting his forehead against hers, “I’m still going to be happy when this month ends, though.”

Mito hummed, rubbing soothing circles into his back, “I know. But, just remember, you’re almost there. Tobirama’s finals are done next week… then we’ll be able to celebrate Madara’s birthday and Christmas.”

Hashirama pulled back, eyes bright with excitement, “Mito! You’re a genius!”

“Of course,” she laughed, “But, how am I genius this time?”

“Celebrate! We should have a party! This has been such a long, cold, awful month…we all deserve to have some over-the-top fun!” Hashirama cupped her face with his hands, giving her a firm, enthusiastic kiss, “I love you. Thank you, you truly are the best.” 

Mito smiled, hugging him tight, “Happy to help.”

**

“This cannot be safe,” Tobirama said, nose wrinkled in disgust, “I thought you wanted this party to be fun?”

Hashirama laughed as he stirred the punch bowl that was, admittedly, filled with a rather worrisome medley of alcohol, “It’s fine.”

“I don’t know,” He responded as he peered doubtfully at the concoction. The cheerful red color did nothing to assuage his fears, “Remember what happened at my birthday party last year?”

Madara snorted from Hashirama’s right, “Please, you already know that _nobody_ remembers your birthday party last year.”

Tobirama gestured emphatically, “Exactly!”

“Guys,” Hashirama said, smacking Madara’s head when the other man leaned forward to give the bowl a tentative sniff, “I swear, it’s fine.”

It was uncanny how they were both able to raise an eyebrow at him in unison. He rolled his eyes at their obvious skepticism, “Seriously, Mito looked over the recipe and all the ingredients. She’s given the green light and assured me that it will not be a repeat of any previous parties, birthday-related or otherwise, satisfied?”

Madara grinned, immediately sticking his plastic cup into the punch bowl, “Yup.”

“Ugh,” Tobirama said, “Just use the ladle you heathen.”

Madara was too busy chugging his drink to offer a verbal response. He settled for a simple, crude hand gesture that Tobirama, thankfully, ignored.

Hashirama still had hopes they’d get through the evening on the right side of tipsy, no bloodshed necessary, “Do you want some, Tobirama?”

His brother looked at the punch, resigned, “Alright. I suppose if Mito says it’s fine...that’s good enough for me.”

Hashirama enthusiastically poured some punch into his empty cup, “That’s the spirit!”

**

“It’s a Christmas miracle…”

Hashirama stood, full of awe, watching his brother and roommate sing a drunken duet in his living room. They’d bought him the karaoke machine for his birthday a few years back, but neither of them ever used it without intense pleading and endless begging.

Mito laughed, placing her hand under his chin, forcing his mouth closed, “I told you they got along better than you thought!”

He shook his head, still shocked, “I’m never going to doubt you ever again.”

They both smiled, watching Tobirama and Madara stumble over their lyrics to the cheers of the crowd gathered around them.

Mito patted his arm, “Well, you’ve made it through the month and you’re halfway done with winter altogether. Think you’ll survive?”

Hashirama put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, basking in the obvious joy radiating from everyone he knew. He placed a quick kiss to the top of her head, “Yeah, actually. I’ve got a feeling everything’ll work out.”


End file.
